Happy Birthday Keith
by Ruby Moon-Snape
Summary: It's Keith's birthday, but he doesn't want to acknowledge it. Will his friends comply with his wishes or is he getting a surprise party? Brotherly Sheith/Broganes and Klance with a little bit of Dads of Marmora


Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender.

Author Note: Shiro and Keith are adoptive brothers. Keith considers the Blades family, and this is AU, where Ulaz, Thace, and Antok survived and Shiro never went missing. This is also Klance.

"Happy Birthday, Keith"

Keith woke up early as usual. He knew today was October 23, thanks to Hunk and Pidge concocting a way to determine what day it was on Earth. He hoped no one was going to make a big deal out of it being his birthday. He was determined to make it as normal a day as possible. He was going to go train like he does every morning. He grabbed his bayard and his Marmora blade, attached them to his belt, and left his room. He strangely found the training deck locked. He tried opening it in many ways, including prying it open with each of his blades, but nothing worked. He was confused and went to the bridge to ask Allura about the training deck. He didn't find Allura, but Coran was there.

"Good morning, number four! How are you this morning?"

"Morning, Coran. I was going to do some training in the training deck, but it's locked. Are you able to unlock it for me?"

"Ah, sorry about that, young Paladin, but the training deck is closed. Princess's orders."

"What am I supposed to do then?"

"Maybe strengthen your bond with the Red Lion?"

Keith shrugged. "Well, might as well. Thanks, anyway, Coran." Keith left the bridge and walked all the way down to Red Lion's hangar. As he approached, Red's eyes glowed, and she bent down and opened her mouth for him. He smiled and walked up the ramp and entered her cockpit. "Hello, Red."

He felt a purr in the back of his mind. He sat down in the seat and closed his eyes. "Hello, cub."

Keith flushed at the nickname. He had asked her why she called him that. Apparently, she had taken her cue from the Blades, who called him their kit, and had just adapted the terminology. "I was going to go train on the training deck some this morning, but it was locked per the princess's orders. Why would she lock it when she loves for us to train a whole lot?"

"Maybe it needs to be improved or needs maintenance," Red suggested.

"Coran suggested strengthening our bond, but I don't know how much stronger our bond can be."

Red chuckled. "I understand your scepticism, cub. We have the strongest bond a lion can have with her Paladin. I love having you as my Paladin. You risked your life to rescue me from the Galran ship, and that was before we even bonded! The only other Paladin that has a bond even close to ours is the Black Paladin."

Keith grinned. "He is my brother. I just hope he doesn't make a big deal out of today."

"What is today?"

"It's my birthday, but I don't like it."

"Why not?"

"I never had a good day whenever I had acknowledged my birthday nor had there been a celebration. Most people have parties planned by their friends and family. After my dad died and I was adopted by Shiro's parents, I told them to not have a celebration for my birthday."

"Well, since no one else can hear me, happy birthday, cub."

"Thanks, Red. I'm still not acknowledging it."

"I figured as much. Go get some food. You can come back later to talk if you'd like."

"All right, mom."

Red tossed her head lightly, throwing Keith off balance. "Don't sass me, cub."

"Sorry. I couldn't resist. I will see you later, Red." Keith exited the lion and left the hangar. He made his way to the dining room, where most of the other Paladins were; Hunk was still in the kitchen. Keith sat down near Shiro and pinned a glare on the Princess. "Allura, why is the training deck locked?"

Allura held her head high. "Coran and Pidge are going to be doing maintenance in there, and I didn't want anyone using it until they are done."

Shiro placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "That makes sense, doesn't it, Keith?"

Keith was saved from answering by Hunk leaving the kitchen with breakfast. Interestingly enough, it wasn't food goo or a strange concoction. It was oddly colored pancakes! Keith sat up and looked at the plate placed in front of him. He loved pancakes! He eyed them suspiciously. Why did Hunk cook pancakes today of all days? Were the other Paladins aware of his birthday or was he just being paranoid? He looked around and noticed the other Paladins were eating their pancakes. He was probably just being paranoid. If Hunk was making a big deal out of it being his birthday, only he would have pancakes...though he did have the biggest stack. He shrugged and put butter and syrup on them and started eating his pancakes, oblivious to his teammates' smiles.

After breakfast, Shiro snagged his brother and dragged him to the bridge. They sat down at their Paladin seats and did maneuvers with their defense drones, which Keith enjoyed especially since Lance wasn't there to goof off. He had a crush on the Blue Paladin, but he could be annoying. He actually did remember Lance from their time at the Garrison after he mentioned their rivalry, even though it was one sided. He enjoyed the silence Shiro allowed between them. They didn't need words, being as close as they were. Keith enjoyed this one on one time with his brother, which lasted until lunchtime.

Lunch was another unusual meal from Hunk. Somehow, he managed to make another meal that was Keith's favorite, grilled cheese and tomato soup. Keith flushed as he was served the meal. He had always loved it, even though it was a childlike meal. It reminded him of better times with his father back on Earth. Was this another coincidence? Keith looked around the table again, seeing that the other Paladins were served the same thing he was. He once again ate the meal, oblivious to his teammates' smiles.

After lunch, Lance dragged him to the lounge, a photo album in hand. The Red and Blue Paladins sat next to each other as Lance went through his photo album, which was full of pictures from Lance's time at the Garrison with guest appearances of Hunk, Pidge, Shiro, and Keith. Most of the pictures Lance went over were the ones Keith was in. The spent several hours reminiscing of their shared time at the Garrison.

Just then, Pidge showed up. "The training deck is open now, and Shiro wants everyone down there for a team training session."

Keith grinned. Looks like he was going to get to train after all! He followed the Green and Blue Paladins to the training deck, which strangely was dark even when they entered. Keith withdrew his Marmora blade, which shifted to its short sword form and its insignia glowed slightly, casting weird shadows onto the walls. "Pidge, what did you and Coran do to the lighting system?"

All of a sudden, the lights flared on, illuminating the room which was decorated with balloons and streamers and a banner stating "Happy Birthday, Keith!"

He looked around the room, seeing the four Paladins, two Alteans, and, to his delight, the four Blades. The four Paladins and Alteans called out, "Happy birthday, Keith!"

Keith sheepishly shifted his Marmora blade back to its knife form and sheathed it. He was immediately surrounded by the ten others, Hunk carrying a big birthday cake. It had nineteen candles and was red velvet cake. Keith smiled and turned to Shiro. "You told him about all my favorite foods, didn't you?"

Shiro held up his hands. "He asked, and I answered."

Then a realization dawned on Keith. He turned to Allura. "The training deck didn't need maintenance done on it, did it? You had to keep me away, so you could decorate and smuggle the Blades here, didn't you?"

"It was Lance's and Shiro's idea," Allura clarified. "They set everything up."

"The Black Paladin told us today was your name day, kit, and there was to be a celebration for you," Thace said. "We arrived as soon as we could."

Keith hugged Thace. "I do appreciate you guys coming here for this."

Thace hugged Keith, and the other Blades came over. Ulaz hugged Keith as well. Kolivan stroked Keith's hair, while Antok wrapped his tail around Keith's waist.

"It's Keith's birthday, so he gets to decide what he gets to do!" Lance exclaimed.

"All I wanted to do today was train with my swords," Keith said with a grin.

Shiro managed to get a smack on the back of Keith's head. "You train everyday, Keith. You need something fun to do."

"I know." Keith grinned again. "I actually enjoyed today. I had my favorite foods and spent the day with my brother and my cr-teammate." Keith blushed. He almost let it slip that he had a crush on Lance.

Shiro grinned at his brother's near-slip. It was his intention to get Keith and Lance together. Lance stared at the Red Paladin. Did he almost say crush? Did Keith actually like him? The thought made him grin. He was going to kiss Keith before his birthday was over.

Keith cut the cake, and Hunk served everyone a slice, including the Blades (Antok and Kolivan refused). They watched their kit eat his cake, enjoying each bite. Thace and Ulaz decided to try the cake, which tasted strange to them, but they finished their slices.

"We have gifts, too!" Lance exclaimed, leading Keith over to a small table with a few gifts.

Keith couldn't believe it. His friends got gifts for him.

"Happy name day, kit." Ulaz handed Keith a wrapped box.

Keith looked surprised as he took the box. He gingerly unwrapped it and opened the box. To his delight, it was a Blade of Marmora uniform. He set the box down and hugged the Blades once more. "Thank you so much."

Thace and Ulaz hugged their kit. Antok wrapped his tail around him, while Kolivan stroked Keith's hair, stating, "You're welcome, kit. You are one of us after all."

"Don't keep the birthday boy all to yourselves! He's got other gifts to open!" Lance called out, grinning. Thace tightened his grip on Keith and growled lightly at Lance, who held his hands up placatingly. "Easy. We all love Keith, but he does have other gifts to get."

Keith placed a hand on Thace's arm. "It's okay, Thace. You don't need to growl at Lance. He means well."

Thace stopped growling and reluctantly let Keith go. Keith approached the table with the gifts. There were four gifts on the table. Hunk shifted nervously. "My gift was the two meals I made for you. I hope that was okay."

Keith placed a hand on Hunk's shoulder. "It was great. It wasn't over the top, it was something you enjoyed doing, and I loved both meals." Hunk had tears in his eyes as he grabbed Keith up in a big bear hug. Keith let out a laugh. "Okay, Hunk. Let me go. It's hard to breathe."

Hunk released the Red Paladin, who stumbled slightly. He picked up an envelope from the table and opened it. It was a handmade coupon. The coupon read "redeem for one day of training with your brother." Keith grinned. He knew who this was from. He turned to Shiro, waved the coupon slightly, and said, "I'll probably be using this very soon."

"What is it?" Allura asked, curious.

"When Shiro and I were younger, we would make these coupons, promising certain things."

"Instead of buying gifts, we would make these and give them to our family. We would promise to make mom breakfast in bed one day or we would do extra chores around the house for dad," Shiro explained. "The one I just gave Keith was good for a day of training with me."

Keith hugged Shiro. "I like it a lot. Thank you, Takashi."

Shiro returned the hug before pushing Keith back towards the gift table. "Pick another one."

Keith looked at the other three gifts. There were three boxes of various sizes. He shrugged, picked the smallest one, and opened it. It was a tablet like the ones he had seen Pidge and Lance had. Pidge came a little closer. "I figured you might like one. I uploaded some pictures and other programs Shiro suggested you might like."

Keith flicked through the image gallery. There were group shots of the Paladins and Alteans as well as individual pictures. There were pictures of the castle, the lions, and the some of their allies. Pidge even managed to get pictures of the Blade of Marmora members (without their masks [except for Antok])! Keith smiled and locked the tablet before wrapping an arm around Pidge's shoulders and giving her a light squeeze. "Thank you, Pidge. I appreciate this."

Pidge pushed his arm off with a grin. "Go find out what else you got."

Keith grinned at her before turning his attention to the other boxes on the table. He grabbed a medium sized box and opened it. He immediately blushed as he saw what was inside. He closed the box and walked over to the princess. He gave her a hug and whispered in her ear, "You are probably going to be down a Black Paladin. Start searching for a replacement."

Allura knew Keith wasn't going to hurt Shiro. She returned the hug and whispered, "I didn't know what to get you, so I asked Shiro. He suggested the jacket."

Lance was very curious as to what was in the box. He walked over and pulled a red jacket. He held it up, looking it over. It was definitely longer than the other pilot's regular jacket, and it resembled the Red Lion, complete with a tail hanging off the bottom of the back. The hood of the jacket had ears and looked like Red Lion's head. Lance grinned and approached the other Paladin. He quickly draped the jacket over Keith's shoulders and put up the hood. The surprise on Keith's face made Lance chuckle. "It looks good on you, Mullet."

Shiro stopped Keith from going after Lance by directing him back to the gift table where there was only one gift left. It was a small box, bigger than Pidge's gift but smaller than Allura's. Keith opened the box and gasped. He withdrew two sets of throwing knives, still sheathed in their protective holders. He set one set down on the table and unlatched the other set. He slipped one of the throwing knives out and looked it over. It was an obsidian metal with a circular pommel, and the grip was wrapped in a black twine like material. Keith was impressed with the gift. He looked up at the assembled guests with awe evident on his face, trying to figure out who gifted him knives. He saw Coran puff out his chest and grinned. He might have guessed. The older Altean knew he had an affinity for blades. He resheathed the throwing knife and stored both sets away in one of his utility packs. "Thank you very much, Coran. I will put them to very good use."

"I know you will, number four."

Keith realized that he never received a gift from Lance, which was strange since he got a gift from everyone else. He watched as the Blue Paladin approached him. Lance wrapped his arms around the slightly shorter pilot and kissed him. Keith was surprised but happy as well. He allowed his eyes to close and kissed Lance back, his arms going around Lance's neck. They stayed like that for a minute, before having to come up for air. Lance put his forehead against Keith's. "This is my gift to you. I would like to be your boyfriend if you'll have me."

Keith smiled. "I think this might be my favorite gift of all."

Fin


End file.
